Improvement in portable fences



UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

ALOXZO W. OLDS, OF GREEN OAK STATION, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT lN PORTABLE FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 137,949, dated April 15, 1873; application filed February 8, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALONZO W. OLns, of Green Oak Station, county of Livingston, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fence, of which the following is a full, clear and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse section of my improved fence arranged with the sill and lower rail near the ground, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section with one end of the sill and the lower rail elevated at some distance from the ground.

In the construction of fences, either portable or stationary, it is frequently found desirable,

and for many purposes sufficient, to place the lower rail at considerable elevation from the ground-as, for instance, when it is only needed to turn cattle, or when it is built upon ground which is liable to be overflowed by wafor, where the fence would be swept away by the current unless an unobstructed space were left beneath for the passage of the water.

Under other circumstances it is found not only desirable but necessary to substitute a close-bottom fence, for surrounding a given lot, for an open-bottom one without iucurrin g the labor and expense of entirely rebuilding.

The advantages resulting from such a construction as will meet the several conditions and requirements above indicated will be apparent, particularly in localities where material for fencing is scarce or difficult to obtain; and it is with a view to meet these conditions and requirements that I have made this invention, which consists essentially in supporting the horizontal rails of a fence upon a vertically-adjustable sill, one end of which is supported upon a brace in such manner that the distance between the lower rail and the ground is determined by the height of the point of connection of the sill with the brace.

In the drawing, A is the adjustable sill, and B the brace, which may be of any usual or desired size, as circumstances may determine. One end of the sill is secured to the brace by any convenient fastening device, which is convenient of adjustment or of removal and replacement for the purpose of effecting the adjustment in height of said end of the sill. Or-

dinarily I prefer to use a short wire for this purpose, said wire clasping the sill and brace in loop form, with its ends twisted together or interlocked, as represented at A, said device being cheap, easily applied, and at the same time very secure, as it will bite into the wood, and is therefore not liable to be displaced; but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to any particular fastening de-' vice. G are the posts pinned to the braces, as at c, and also, if desired, to the sill A, as at (t. O is a rib or slat pinned or wired to the post 0, between which and said post the rails D are placed, as shown; and said rails, being secured in place by nails through the ribs or slats O, are prevented from wed gin g together,

and are held in any desired position. Where the posts are not pinned to the sills, as above, this manner of fastening the ribs or rails is essential in order to keep the posts 0 in an upright position, as otherwise, with the posts supported only by a pin pivoting it at the top, the rails would be permitted to Wedge together and slide down the inclined sill. The rails, however, may be held to the post 0 by means of brackets, hooks, pins, or other devices, and the wedging action th'us prevented without the use of the rib 0, though this is preferred.

In building this fence I usually first secure the sill to the brace at the desired point, with the two pieces at a more acute angle than that represented, and afterward spread them to make sure that the wire shall bite into them and have sufiicient grip to retain its position. I then attach the posts 0 to the brace by a pin at c, as explained, and, these swinging in to a vertical position, I place against them, on the sill, the lower rail, and secure to it and to the post 0, by a through-pin or a clamping wire similar to A, the rib or slat C. After this is done and the posts and ribs are secured in a proper upright position I put in the rails and space, and secure them at proper distances apart by nailing, as described, or by the use of intermediate spacing-blocks D, as preferred.

Where the posts 0 are pinned to the sills A, as at a, the fastening of the rails as explained is unnecessary, as the tendency of the rails to slide downward on the sillis obviated; but I prefer the arrangement described, as it facili tates the adjustment of the sill upon the brace,

and the fence is more readily converted from a close to an open bottom fence, and vice versa; whereas when the posts are pinned or otherwise fastened to the sill any adjustmentin the height of the sill requires a corresponding adjustment of the fastening of the point of connection between the posts and sills. This may be provided for, however, when preferred, by perforating the posts, as shown at a.

In the construction described and shown it will be seen that an open-bottom fence may be readily changed to a close-bottom one by dropping the sill down and putting in more rails after adding a short section to the bottom of rib G 3 and a close-bottom fence can be easily converted to an open-b0ttom one by cutting off or removing a short piece from the bottom of rib O, removing the desired number of lower rails, and correspondingly raising the upper end of sill A by changing its point of attachment to, brace B. Where the fence is built on uneven ground I prefer to place the brace on the higher ground, for the reason that in this case a brace that is made of the right length for level ground will then always be of sufficient length. i

Aside from the fact that my fence is readily and easily adjusted, as explained, it has an advantage in the fact that it is supported entirely clear of the ground, except at the ends of the sill and brace, and-is therefore better protected from rot than if the entire sill rested on. the ground.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

V 1. The combination of the sill A, brace B, posts 0, and rails D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The adjustable sills A, braces B, and the posts 0, secured at their upper ends to the braces B, in combination with the ribs 0 for Witnesses:

F. L. OLEMENTs, O. S. OLEMENTs. 

